Britons tucked into more roast dinners last year – but fewer of them were on a Sunday, according to analysis from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Kantar Worldpanel.
Families consumed 1.4 billion roast dinners, an increase of 0.6 per cent on the previous year, but Sunday’s share slipped below half, accounting for 49 per cent of all roast meals, reflecting how much society has changed over the last thirty years.
The figures came as AHDB Beef & Lamb launched the third year of its “Why wait ‘til Sunday?” TV advertising campaign, showcasing the versatility of beef and lamb mini roasts. The TV advert launches on 24 October and aims to target smaller households, positioning the mini roast as the perfect mid-week meal which is easy to prepare and cook, contemporary, versatile, and, above all, really tasty.
The campaign, which last year, was seen by 22 million households, encouraged supermarkets to introduce over 20 new lines to the mini roast category. It had a positive halo effect on the wider beef and lamb roasting category of £11 million, indicating people also purchased other lamb and beef joints.
For 2016, the focus is on young couples, aged 25 to 34, through online activity, press advertising and PR, which will run alongside the television adverts. They will be encouraged to try the mini roast as the perfect date-night meal, enabling them to make quality time for each other in the week.
The AHDB Beef & Lamb trade development team is working with multiple food retailers and processors to support the campaign, as well as with Red Tractor, who will be offering consumers an opportunity to “win a mini break with a mini roast”, as part of the TV campaign and on-pack activity in-store.
Nick White, Head of Beef & Lamb Domestic Marketing, said: “The mini roast campaign aims to grow awareness of the category, influence consumers’ purchasing habits and build on the success of last year’s activity by focusing on a more defined target audience.
“By targeting smaller households that are often busy and don’t necessarily have time for the traditional Sunday roast, we can really encourage them to see that enjoying a tasty roasting joint of beef or lamb doesn’t have to be time-consuming, inconvenient or a hassle.
“This strategic promotional campaign is just one of the many activities that AHDB Beef & Lamb is focusing on to create consumer demand for quality assured beef and lamb.”
Farmers, processors and other stakeholders can get involved with the campaign via social media, using #miniroast. AHDB Beef & Lamb has produced a range of videos and recipes to support the campaign that can easily be used across a range of channels at www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk
